New night for 'Grimm': David Giuntoli previews season-ending storylines

by jmaloni

Tue, Apr 30th 2013 05:20 pm

"Grimm": Pictured, from left, are David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt, Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin, Sasha Roiz as Capt. Renard, and Reggie Lee as Sgt. Wu. "Grimm" is moving to the Tuesday at 10 p.m. timeslot on NBC. (Photo by Scott Green/NBC)

Behind the Screens with
Joshua Maloni

NBC
is rewarding "Grimm" for not just surviving on Friday nights, but thriving in a
9 p.m. timeslot where other sci-fi action-adventure series have faltered. The
Peacock Network is shifting "Grimm" to Tuesdays at 10 p.m. - following its
highly successful reality singing contest "The Voice."

"I
think it's all very exciting," said "Grimm" star David Giuntoli. "I think that
NBC is showing a lot of faith in 'Grimm' by moving us to Tuesday nights."

"We're
very excited to expose 'Grimm' to an entirely new audience and, you know, scare
and befuddle the whole new segment of the population," he added.

Giuntoli,
who plays Portland Homicide Detective (and wesen-chasing superhero) Nick
Burkhardt, said "Grimm" has succeeded thanks
to "the roguish good looks of lead David Giuntoli."

All
kidding aside, "I think we have - listen, it - a successful television show is
a mystery how to make it. But there has to be certain components," Giuntoli said.
"We have writers and creators who are seasoned and excited, and that's a really
great combination. They know what they're doing. They have found the sweet
spot. David Greenwalt, you know, has this gallows humor about him, as does Jim
Kouf - our two main writers, executive producers. And they balance story well
with a lot of darkness and a little bit of levity. And, you know, there's some
very lovable characters. And that's what it takes. They just know their stuff."

As
"Grimm" heads into this season's final four episodes, Giuntoli said, "You could
definitely see a Nick and Juliette reunion. And again, in 'Grimm' fashion, they
love tearing people apart and bringing them back together, and who knows how
hard they're going to make that for Nick and Juliette.

"What
you will be seeing that I haven't spoken about yet is a lot of - we deal with
the undead in a way that's really never been dealt - in a way that it's never
been approached before - in very typical 'Grimm' fashion. So zombies, 'quote
unquote,' will be coming to Portland. And I would also say the cliffhanger of
this season is - I don't know how the writers are going to get themselves out
of this corner that they've painted themselves into. One of the cast may not
live through the finale."

In
recent episodes, Nick has formed something of a union with Capt. Renard (Sasha
Roiz), who is a hexenbiest. Fans, undoubtedly, are surprised Nick is getting
along with the man who may or may not be the show's ultimate villain, while quarreling
with the woman he hoped to marry. (Juliette [Bitsie Tulloch], in fairness, was
poisoned, lost her memories of Nick, then found said recollections, only to be
haunted - literally - by images of the past.)

"I
want to speak especially to the relationship between the captain and Nick. I
wanted to make sure that, even though we are working together, I'm not too easy
with him. I wouldn't call it a friendship. I wouldn't call us pals. I wouldn't -
we wouldn't go out and eat together. I think we more or less have a common
enemy (in evil royal wesen)," Giuntoli said. "I always like to think - when I'm
working with the captain, I always think about that picture from World War II
where, like, Stalin and FDR were sitting next to each other with Churchill. You
know, like, how did Stalin get there? But they just had a common enemy. And so
we're working, you know, tentatively together. He did, after all, try to kill
my aunt.

"So
as far as Juliette goes, you know, I think we're going to be seeing us kind of
patching things up - turning things around a bit. And I'm sure that, in 'Grimm'
fashion, they'll find some way to make that as difficult as humanly possible."